Expansible die.



D. N. PRIME.

. EXPANSIBLE DIE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1910.

Patented Jan.7, 1913.

WT/VESSESL F g3 ZBM/k/fw UNITEDSTATES PATENT-OFFICE}; j

DANIEL N. PRIME, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssmNon. T UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, oFrATEnsoN, NEW-JERSEY, A co roR trIoN on NEW JERSEY, A

EXPANSIBLE DIE.

Specification of petters Patent.

Be it known that I, DANIEL N. PRIME, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of-Esse and State of 1 Massachusetts, have invented certain- I m-- provements in Expansible Dies, of which the following description, in connection withthe accompanying drawings, is a speci-} fication, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates'to dies for cutting or dying out blanks from sheet material,

such as leather, fiber board cloth or the like, and more particularly to' dies of the typeused with the clicking press for cutting blanks from upper leather for boots and shoes. g It has beenvcustomar'y heretofore, amongmanufacturers to use a separate, rigid die for each different size or shape of blank which it was desired to die out, a full set of these dies consisting of one for each piece 7 that goes to make up a shoe. As many sets of these dies were required as there were sizes or styles of shoes to be'made. Such sets of dies are expensive, take up considerable room for storage and much time is wasted by the cuttersin obtaining theright dies in changing from one size to another or one style to another.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a die of such character that it may be used forcu'tting blanks of a plurality of sizes or shapes, or both, whereby the num-;

ber of dies. and the initial cost of the collection of dies necessaryto producethe different shapes and sizes of blanks for the up pers manufactured in a single factory may be substantially reduced, In carrying my invention into effect, I preferably construct dies which are expansible or adjustable as to size, thus doing away with the necessity of different sets of dies for the different sizes of blankswhich it is desired to pro duce; By providing for a sufficiently large range of adjustmentit is possible' to die out a number of different sizes by the use of a single die.

In a preferred embodiment of my invention the cutting blade of the die consists of a plurality of sections which are so connected together as to be capable of sliding adjustment with respect to each other.-

manipulation of a single actuating means ;the provision of adjusting screws properly positioned to eifect the desired adjustments of the various sections of the cutting *blade' Application filed July 22, 910. Serial No 573,2 38.

' lSuitable means is provided foreifecting this adjustinent'in such a manner as to enlarge or reduce the size of the die at will. This result may be accomplished through" Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

of the die, the said adjusting screws all being geared to a single operating spindle or shaft sothat they may be simultaneouslyroa jtated to accomplish their respective func-',

,tions ofj'adjustment. In order to secure substantial continuity of the "cutting edge iof the'die, adjacent sections thereof maybe oppositely beveled. Thesections are thus desired degree, while the cutting edges of any two adjacent sections lie closely against each other and form a single continuous cut ting edge.

- In passingfrom one size to'another in. dying out the various blanks ,which enter I amount by which the width isito be increa sed.-

It is accordingly earths object ofthe invention to provide a die capable of being expanded or contracted through" wider 1 limits longitudinally than transversely.

One way in'which this result maybe effected consists insoproportioning the pitch of the threads of the adjusting screws and the gearing between said screws and the operating spindle or shaft previously referred to that in expanding the die the increase in length will be suitably greater than the increase in width. f e

A further advantage realized in the use of suchadi becomes apparent when dealing with leather of different qualities.

When a fine grained non-stretching leather is being worked it is often desirable to cuta blank slightly larger than when the leather is soft or yielding. With ad'ie embodying my invention the "manufacturer, can sa v v stock by cutting blanks slightly" undersize j from a leather whichis' likely to stretch, the

nature of the material allowing the differ 70 capable of sliding past each other to any r 3,1051 ence to be made up in the; lasting operationi} if f by the stretching of the leather. In effectv ing-a saving o'fstock in this mannerfit' is' 1 very important that the die be capable of adjustment to exactly the desired size and through any desired range.

It is often desirable in dying out blanks to produce patterns which difier somewhat at one part of their outline while the remainder thereof practically conforms to a predetermined standard. This is exemplified, for instance, in blanks for Vamps in which it may sometimes be desired to have a deep, and at other times a shallow, throat.

A further object of my invention accordingly comprises the provision in a die of the type hereinbefore described of means whereby one portion of the contour of the cutting edge may be varied while the contour of the remainder of the edge remains fixed. One way in which this result may be accomplished is by constructing the parts constituting a portion of the cutting blade of the die in such a way as to be capable of adjustment with respect to the remainder of the blade and providing separate means for holding these parts in their adjusted position whereby the simultaneous adjustment of the various remaining sections of the blade above referred to may be effected without affecting the adjustment above described. 9

The advantages incident to the invention will be best understood and appreciated from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of an eXpansible die constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a detail in perspective showing the adjustable connection between adjacent sections of the cutting blade; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan illustrating a construction in which one portion of the contour of the die may be varied without affecting other parts thereof; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the plane 4-4, of Fig. 2.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the die comprises a sectional blade 10 having an endless cutting edge and consisting of a plurality of consecutive sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 1-8, 19, and 20. The said sections overlap each other in pairs and are slidably connected together by means of screw and slot connections, each consisting of a screw 21 threaded into one section, as 18, the shoulder of the screw passing through a slot 22 in the adjacent overlapping section, as 19. Under the head of each screw are washers 23 for the purpose of effecting a better sliding connection between the screw and blade section= In order that the edge of the die may be rigidly maintained in a single plane and the sections of the blade may be accurately guided in their sliding movements with relation to each other a slidable connection of the form'shown in Fig. 2 is preferably employed. In one blade section a guiding slot or groove is formed which receives a tongue 24 projecting from the engaging surface of the adjacent section of the blade. Positive means are thus provided for guiding the movement of the various sections of the blade in straight lines and preserving the rigidity of the frame of' the die.

In order to maintain the continuity of the cutting edge of the blade under various con ditions of adjustment of the size of the die, the adjacent sections of the knife are oppositely beveled to a common cutting edge, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein the engaging surfaces of the sections 18 and 19 are shown as plane and lying closely against each other. The faces of the blades opposite their engaging surfaces are beveled toward said engaging surfaces so that the cutting edges of any two adjacent sections lie closely against each other and form practically a single continuous cutting edge 25.

In order to effect the enlargement or contraction of the die in all directions in such manner as may be desired to preserve a correct form while changing its size, the following mechanism is provided :A main central shaft 26 consists of a plurality of sections splined together, as shown at 27, so that the sections are capable of longitudinal movement with respect to each other but all rotate together. The outer section of the shaft 26 is journaled in a yoke 28 upon one side of which a collar 29 is pinned tothe shaft and upon the other side of which a bevel gear 30 is rigidly mounted upon the shaft. Meshing with the gear 30 are two bevel gears 31 mounted on the inner ends of screws 32 rotatably mounted in the yoke 28 and having their outer ends threaded into bosses 33 formed integral with the blade sect-ions 15 and 16. Thus by rotating the shaft 26 by means of the thumb nut 34, the screws 32 will be rotated in opposite directions and adjustment of the blade sections 15 and 16 with respect to each other will be effected. The outer section of the shaft 26 is threaded into a floating frame 35 which will also be moved along the major axis of the die when the said shaft is rotated. The central shaft section 36 is threaded into the frame 35 and held from longitudinal movement in a frame 40. Upon the end of the shaft section 39 is mounted a bevel gear 41 which meshes with a bevel gear 42 mounted upon the shaft 43 which lies transversely of the die and is oppositely threaded at its opposite ends so that rotation of the said shaft 43 will effect relative transverse moveinent between the blade sections 11 and 20. Rods 44, 45 each have one end journaled in the floating frame 35 and provided with a bevel gear meshing with the gear 38 upon the central shaft section 36. The said rods 44, 45 extend toward the extreme corners of the die and are provided with threaded ends which engage in correspondingly threaded bosses projecting inwardly from the corner blade sections 13 and 18. The rods 44 and 145 are. located in such anangular relation to the central longitudinal axis of the die that 'the longitudinal component of the motion of the blade sections effected thereby is considerably greater than the transverse component. This results in enlarging the die more in the direction of its length than in the direction of its width. The same resuit is also contributed to; by so proportioning the screw threads upon the transverse shafts 32 and 43 with respect to thethreads upon the longitudinal shaft 26, and the gearing' connecting said shafts, that the increase or decrease in the longitudinal dimension of the die will be greater than that in its transverse dimension;

"In order to insure that the side sections 12 and 19 of the cutting blade shall preserve their proper angular relation while being adjusted toward and from each other a transverse guide bar 46 is attached-to the blade section 16 and serves, by means of tongue and groove connections, between lugs 47 and 48, projecting inwardly from the blade sections 12 and 19 respectively, and

said bar'46 to guide the said blade sections in their to-andfro movement. I

I so

VVhen it is desired to expand or contract the die to adapt it for cutting various sizes of blanks, the operator is able to eifect the desired adjustments of theblade in all di-' rections by the rotation of the single shaft 26. Lateral expansion of the die is effected by the screws 32 and the screw threaded shaft43 which cause the bladesectio-ns and 16 to move away from each other and the sections 11 and to do the same. Rotation of the rods 44, also forcesthe corner blade sect-ions 13 and 18 outwardly'in directions oblique to the main axis of the die effecting outward movements of the said corner sections in directions, each of which maybe resolved into two components, one' to it the longitudinal movement of the floating frame 35 resulting from the rotation of the screw threads upon the shaft 26, and the sections12 and 13, as well as the sections 18 and 19, are thus caused to slide with respect to each other in'the direction of the length of the die. The rotation of the screw threaded portion of the shaft section 39 in thefloatingframe 35 also effects longitudiand 16 as 20 with-respect to the remaining sections of the knife. The die as a whole is therefore final movement of the blade sections and lengthened at thesame time that the-laterat expansion takes place and, by properlypro-"f ,portioning the gears and screw threads; en-

largementand contraction of. the die maybe effected through the rotation of the'single actuating shaft while the is correctly maintained.

It is frequently desirable to die out blanks, the main portion of the periphery of which follows a certain predetermined standard shape while a'cert-ain portion, such 'asa recessed portion of the edge of the blank,

may be varied in shape or depth. One construction by which this result may be accomplished is shown in Fig. 3 as exemplified in a die for dyingout Vamps. .By the use of my invention, the operator is enabled to change the depth of the throat cut in a-vamp without otherwise alteringthe size or shape of the blank and after having adjusted' the throat to the desireddepth, further adjustment of the size of the die may be madejgo without interfering with the throat adjustment. For this purpose the-collar 29 is secured to theshaft 26 by a set screw 48 and the bevel gear 30 is rigidly connected to thecollar 29 but may freely rotate upon 'the shaft 26 when the set screw '48 is loosened. A thumb nut 49 is sleeve 29. and the theshaft. The cross bar 46 consists of .a central section 50 and twoside sections 51 and 52. Each of the sections of the baris angular in form and the section 50 is slid form of the die provided for rotating the gear 30 independently of ably connected to sections '51 and '52 in such a manner that the said central section 50' 'may be moved longitudinally of the die without moving the sect-ions 51 and 52. The

parts are secured in their adjusted relation by means of wing nuts 53 and 54.

l/Vhen a is desired to adjust the depth of the throat to be cut .by the die, the set screw 48 and the wing nuts-53 and '54 are loosened.

The section 50 of the crossbar together with the blade sections 15 and 16, which form a rentrant loop-shaped blade, may now be moved inwardly or outwardly upon the blade sectionsv 14 and 17 and the bar sections'51 and 52 without in'any way affect,

ing the remainder of the frame or bladeof the die. The thumb nut 49 may be us'edto rotate the bevel gear 30 in order to turn the screws 32 to'admit of theconvergingor diverging movement of the blade sections 15 they are moved longitudinally of the die. When the desired adjustment of the throat is secured the nuts 53, 54 and the may be adjusted in size as before described without affecting the throat adjustment just made. I p

It should be understood that'theinvention' flla set screw 48 are tightened and. theentire die is not limited to a die for cutting or dying out Vamps but is useful in various other forms, the particular embodiment here illustrated and described being selected for purposes of illustration only.

A great advantage secured by the present invention is apparent when the die is being used for dying out blanks from different grades of leather. Small adjustments in the size of the die and between any limits desired may be readily made in order to compensate for the stretching qualities of the particular stock being used. A range of sizes grading imperceptibly into each other is thus secured which would be absolutely unattainable with the ordinary rigid dies now in use and could be practically approximated only at enormous expense by the provision of a very large number of such rigid dies. In addition to the large range of sizes, a great variation in the shape of the blank can also be efiected by the use of the improved die.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A die having an endless cutting edge which conforms at all points to the outline of the blank to be cut, in combination with a single actuating means for expanding said die in a plurality of directions while maintaining the continuity of the cutting edge.

2. In a device of the class described, a sectional blade, comprising overlapping adjacent sections oppositely beveled to a common cutting edge.

3. A die comprising an endless blade having a plurality of relatively movable sections and a continuous cutting edge which conforms at all points to the outline of the blank to be cut and means for moving some of said sections to expand the die in a plurality of directions while maintaining the continuity of the cutting edge.

4. A die comprising an endless blade having a continuous cutting edge and consisting of a plurality of connected sections overlapping side to side, some movable longitudinally of the die and others movable laterally of the die, and means for simultaneously moving all of said sections relatively to each other while maintaining the continuity of the cutting edge.

5. A die for dying out at a single operation a vamp having a cut out throat, said die having a reentrant loop-shaped cutting blade, and means foradjusting said loopshaped cutting blade relatively to the remainder of the die, whereby the depth of the throat may be varied.

6. A die of the class described, comprising an endless, sectional cutting blade, adjacent sections of said blade engaging and guided by each other for relative movement,

and means for expanding the die in a plurality of directions.

7. A die comprising an endless sectional cutting blade, and means whereby the contour of said blade may be varied at one portion of its length by sliding some of the blade sections endwise while the contour of the remainder of the blade is preserved.

8. A die comprising a plurality of overlapping sections movable in endwise directions, a tongue and groove connection between each pair of sections, and retaining devices for maintaining each pair of sections in engagement laterally.

9. A die comprising a sectional blade, the sections of said blade being adjustable with respect to each other, the cutting edges of adjacent sections merging into each other without interruption and means for adjusting said sections unequally but proportionately in two directions substantially at right angles to each other.

10. A die having an endless, sectional cutting blade consisting of side, end, and corner sections, adjacent sections overlapping and being slidably supported by each other, and a transverse guide bar for preserving the angular relation between said side sections while permitting them to be adjusted toward and from each other.

11. In a die of the class described, an endless cutting blade comprising side sections, a guide bar guiding said side sections for movement transversely of the die, and end and corner sections mounted on said side sections and guided thereon for movement toward and from said guide bar.

12. In a die of the class described, an endless cutting blade comprising relatively movable side, end and corner sections, said end and corner sections being mounted upon and guided by said side sections, and means engaging said end and corner sections for moving them outwardly or inwardly to eX- pand or contract the die.

13. In a die of the class described, a cutting blade presenting an endless contour and comprising relatively movable side, end and corner sections, and means engaging said corner sections of the cutting blade for moving all the sections of the blade while preserving the endless contour of the blade.

14. A die having a sectional cutting blade, a main shaft, and screw-threaded rods geared to said main shaft and each threaded into a different section of said blade, whereby rotation of said main shaft will effect relative movement of said blade sections.

15. An eXpansible die comprising an endless blade having a continuous cutting edge, and means for expanding or contracting said die unequally in a plurality of directions.

16. An elongated die comprising an endless sectional blade having a continuous cutmeans for moving certain portions of the ting edge, and means for expanding or contracting said die through wider limits longitudinally than transversely thereof while maintaining continuity of the cutting edge.

17. A die comprising end and side sections and means for moving the end sections toward each other and simultaneously moving the side sect-ions toward each other,

said means including a telescopic shaft extending in the direction of movement of one pair of sections and arranged to be short-' ened when said sections move toward each other.

18. A 'die comprising a blade having an endless cutting edge, and a single actuating said sections to expand the die in a plurality of directions.

20. A die for dying out at a single operation a vamp having a cut-out throat, said die having a reentrant loop-shaped-cutting blade comprising relatively adjustable overlapping sections, and means for adjusting the loop-shaped cutting blade relatively to the remainder of the die, whereby thedepth of the throat may be varied.

21. A die for dying out at a single op- ;eration a vamp having a cut-out throat, said die having a reentrant loop-shaped cutting blade adjustable relatively to the remainder of the die, whereby the depth of the throat may be varied, said reentrant blade comprising sections. e v a 22. 'A die for dying-outat a single operation a vamp having a cut out throat',.said

relatively adjustable overlapping die having a reentrant loop-shaped cutting blade overlapping at its ends the ends of the main portion of the die blade, and removable fastening means at said overlap.-

ping ends detachably securing the loopshaped blade to the-main portion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. DANIEL N. PRIME. Witnesses: a i

' WILLARD A. SMITfi,

HERBERT W. KENWAY.

(topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents;

Washington, D. 0. 

